Salt Lake City, Utah

Salt Lake City Arts: Art Scene in Salt Lake City

Although probably best known as the center of the Mormon faith, beautiful Salt Lake City combines the qualities of a major city with the charm of a small, western town. In addition to the acclaimed Mormon Tabernacle Choir, the city has an impressive classical music scene, as well numerous dance and theater companies.

Art Museums

Located on the campus of the University of Utah, the Utah Museum of Fine Arts (UMFA) is Utah’s only visual arts institution that collects, exhibits, interprets, and preserves a comprehensive collection of original art objects, more than 18,000 of them, from throughout the world. UMFA is unique in its dual role as a university and a state art museum. ...more...

Theater

Featuring world-class production values (the costumes, locally sewn, are fabulous and the sets are often breathtaking) and the best in local and New York talent, Pioneer has, since its inception in 1962, grown to become one of the largest and most lavish regional theatres in the United States. Presenting seven shows each season, Pioneer’s lineup is an impressive combination of Shakespeare, musical theatre, and classic literature, regularly offering such ambitious …more…

For over twenty years, Plan-B has developed innovative and daring theatre, rooted in over 50 socially conscious world premiere productions. Initially launched with the aptly titled Pushing the Envelope One Act Play Festival, the company’s experimental mainstage season has included such titles as An Alienation Effect, Poe 2000 and A Letter to Harvey Milk, while its hugely popular SLAM Play Festival features five 10 minute …more…

Blessed with a loyal and theatrically adventurous audience, Salt Lake Acting Company has in its forty-year history produced a plethora of important contemporary works. From the sweeping scale of Angels in America and Big Love, to the intimacy of Kimberly Akimbo and I Am My Own Wife, Utah audiences have come to rely on SLAC for top quality area premieres of major New York titles. Producing …more…

Classical Music

(August 3 – August 13, 2012) Park City’s Deer Valley Music Festival is the summer home of the Utah Symphony and the Utah Opera. Each summer season, approximately twenty performances are staged, ranging from pops concerts to classics like Holst’s The Planets; in recent years, the Symphony has played orchestral versions of Queen and Eagles songs, as well. ...more...

The world-renown Mormon Tabernacle Choir is one of, if not the largest choir in the United States with 360 auditioned (all-volunteer) members of the choir. The choir has been bringing music to locations across the the world since its founding. It has the longest-running network show, “Music and the Spoken Word” which has been broadcasting since 1929. The Choir has also performed at 13 world …more…

Salt Lake Symphonic Choir is one of Salt Lake’s long-standing choral gems. The ensemble was founded in 1949 and since then, has performed to general acclaim around the country and internationally. Under Music Director Erin Pike, SLSC is made up of around 100 members and is supported solely by concert appearances and grant funding.

The Utah Symphony, founded in 1940, developed a distinctive reputation because it was the first orchestra to record the first complete cycle of Mahler symphonies, along with works by Varese, Milhaud, Gottschalk, Honegger, and Satie. Under the direction of Joseph Silverstein, and now Keith Lockhart, the orchestra has continued its commitment to new music, premiering and recording many American works.

Opera

(July 12 – August 11, 2012) Utah Festival Opera is a summer festival known in part for its historic venue, the restored Ellen Eccles Theatre, but it is also notable for the abundance of special concerts and events offered in addition to its four annual opera and musical theatre productions. Since 1993, the Festival’s repertoire has featured such canonical operas as Madama Butterfly, La Traviata, and The Magic Flute, operetta classics Die Fledermaus and The Pirates of Penzance, and musical theatre favorites South Pacific, Annie Get Your Gun, and The Music Man. ...more...

Public Transportation: Good (a short walk from CVTD bus 7 at West 100 South Street/South 100 West Street; and a 4-minute walk from bus 11 and the CVS Line at West 100 South Street/South Main Street)
Handicapped Accessibility: Good
Performances/Programs: 4 main stage operas and 7 special concerts with multiple performances of each
Ticket Prices: $10–$66, with prices varying by date, performance, and seat selection. Students (w/ID) …more…

The Utah Opera, an important cultural institution within the state, has been performing and presenting operas since 1978. In 1985, the company was the youngest one in the nation to begin using supertitles as a part of their live performances. The opera reaches performs in venues across the state, bringing opera to people who otherwise might not experience it. ...more...

Jazz

About once a month, JazzSLC draws in some of the top jazz talent in the country. Recent artists include Eliane Elias, John Scofield, The Dave Brubeck Quartet, Dianne Reeves, Brad Mehldau and Kurt Elling, among many, many others. Tickets are $25-$35 for world-class jazz.

JazzSLC Information

Public Transportation: Very Good (a 3-minute walk from the UTA light rail lines 701 and 704 at the Gallivan Plaza/300 South and Main Street stop; and …more…

(July) The Salt Lake City International Jazz Festival began in 2000 and since then, has featured the likes of Nancy Wilson, Sheila E., Spyro Gyra and many others at the popular summer event in beautiful downtown Salt Lake City. The festival takes place over three days in early July in SLC’s Washington Square. Thousands flock to hear local and international jazz musicians and to enjoy the hundreds of food & …more…

Dance

Ballet West sprang from a strong pioneering spirit. By the time founder William F. Christensen established this company in 1963 with the support of Utah’s renowned arts leader Glenn Walker Wallace, he had already established the oldest ballet company in the Western United States (San Francisco) and he had established the first ballet department in an American university (University of Utah). Ballet West strives to continue in this tradition by …more…

Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company, the brain-child of former University of Utah professors Shirley Ririe and Joan Woodbury, has had a strong presence in the landscape of American modern dance since its founding in 1964. The company has long-standing ties to treasured American choreographer Alwin Nikolais and in 2003 was chosen by the Nikolais-Louis Foundation as the official house of his choreographic legacy. In addition to …more…

Film

Broadway Centre Cinemas is a multiplex that is operated by the Salt Lake Film Society of Utah. It specializes in the types of small films that might otherwise have difficulty finding a venue in Salt Lake City. Documentaries, independent films, and foreign fare are all frequently found on the Broadway Centre’s six screens. ...more...

The Salt Lake Film Society aims to bring smaller films to the Salt Lake community that might have otherwise had difficulty finding a venue in the area. It operates out of two venues, the Tower Theatre and the Broadway Centre Cinemas, both of which are put into service every year as official venues for the prestigious Sundance Film Festival. The Tower Theater is particularly interesting; prior to its 1950 renovation, …more…

Multi-Arts Festivals

Throughout its history, Salt Lake City has had a strong tradition of public support for the arts. Just 15 years after the state of Utah was founded, the original Salt Lake Theatre (renamed the Capitol Theatre) was built, serving what was initially a small frontier outpost.

In 1962, as part of the “Second Century Plan”, the city’s leaders proposed the construction of …more…

Art Museums

Located on the campus of the University of Utah, the Utah Museum of Fine Arts (UMFA) is Utah’s only visual arts institution that collects, exhibits, interprets, and preserves a comprehensive collection of original art objects, more than 18,000 of them, from throughout the world. UMFA is unique in its dual role as a university and a state art museum. ...more...

Theater

Featuring world-class production values (the costumes, locally sewn, are fabulous and the sets are often breathtaking) and the best in local and New York talent, Pioneer has, since its inception in 1962, grown to become one of the largest and most lavish regional theatres in the United States. Presenting seven shows each season, Pioneer’s lineup is an impressive combination of Shakespeare, musical theatre, and classic literature, regularly offering such ambitious …more…

For over twenty years, Plan-B has developed innovative and daring theatre, rooted in over 50 socially conscious world premiere productions. Initially launched with the aptly titled Pushing the Envelope One Act Play Festival, the company’s experimental mainstage season has included such titles as An Alienation Effect, Poe 2000 and A Letter to Harvey Milk, while its hugely popular SLAM Play Festival features five 10 minute …more…

Blessed with a loyal and theatrically adventurous audience, Salt Lake Acting Company has in its forty-year history produced a plethora of important contemporary works. From the sweeping scale of Angels in America and Big Love, to the intimacy of Kimberly Akimbo and I Am My Own Wife, Utah audiences have come to rely on SLAC for top quality area premieres of major New York titles. Producing …more…

Classical Music

(August 3 – August 13, 2012) Park City’s Deer Valley Music Festival is the summer home of the Utah Symphony and the Utah Opera. Each summer season, approximately twenty performances are staged, ranging from pops concerts to classics like Holst’s The Planets; in recent years, the Symphony has played orchestral versions of Queen and Eagles songs, as well. ...more...

The world-renown Mormon Tabernacle Choir is one of, if not the largest choir in the United States with 360 auditioned (all-volunteer) members of the choir. The choir has been bringing music to locations across the the world since its founding. It has the longest-running network show, “Music and the Spoken Word” which has been broadcasting since 1929. The Choir has also performed at 13 world …more…

Salt Lake Symphonic Choir is one of Salt Lake’s long-standing choral gems. The ensemble was founded in 1949 and since then, has performed to general acclaim around the country and internationally. Under Music Director Erin Pike, SLSC is made up of around 100 members and is supported solely by concert appearances and grant funding.

The Utah Symphony, founded in 1940, developed a distinctive reputation because it was the first orchestra to record the first complete cycle of Mahler symphonies, along with works by Varese, Milhaud, Gottschalk, Honegger, and Satie. Under the direction of Joseph Silverstein, and now Keith Lockhart, the orchestra has continued its commitment to new music, premiering and recording many American works.

Opera

(July 12 – August 11, 2012) Utah Festival Opera is a summer festival known in part for its historic venue, the restored Ellen Eccles Theatre, but it is also notable for the abundance of special concerts and events offered in addition to its four annual opera and musical theatre productions. Since 1993, the Festival’s repertoire has featured such canonical operas as Madama Butterfly, La Traviata, and The Magic Flute, operetta classics Die Fledermaus and The Pirates of Penzance, and musical theatre favorites South Pacific, Annie Get Your Gun, and The Music Man. ...more...

Public Transportation: Good (a short walk from CVTD bus 7 at West 100 South Street/South 100 West Street; and a 4-minute walk from bus 11 and the CVS Line at West 100 South Street/South Main Street)
Handicapped Accessibility: Good
Performances/Programs: 4 main stage operas and 7 special concerts with multiple performances of each
Ticket Prices: $10–$66, with prices varying by date, performance, and seat selection. Students (w/ID) …more…

The Utah Opera, an important cultural institution within the state, has been performing and presenting operas since 1978. In 1985, the company was the youngest one in the nation to begin using supertitles as a part of their live performances. The opera reaches performs in venues across the state, bringing opera to people who otherwise might not experience it. ...more...

Jazz

About once a month, JazzSLC draws in some of the top jazz talent in the country. Recent artists include Eliane Elias, John Scofield, The Dave Brubeck Quartet, Dianne Reeves, Brad Mehldau and Kurt Elling, among many, many others. Tickets are $25-$35 for world-class jazz.

JazzSLC Information

Public Transportation: Very Good (a 3-minute walk from the UTA light rail lines 701 and 704 at the Gallivan Plaza/300 South and Main Street stop; and …more…

(July) The Salt Lake City International Jazz Festival began in 2000 and since then, has featured the likes of Nancy Wilson, Sheila E., Spyro Gyra and many others at the popular summer event in beautiful downtown Salt Lake City. The festival takes place over three days in early July in SLC’s Washington Square. Thousands flock to hear local and international jazz musicians and to enjoy the hundreds of food & …more…

Dance

Ballet West sprang from a strong pioneering spirit. By the time founder William F. Christensen established this company in 1963 with the support of Utah’s renowned arts leader Glenn Walker Wallace, he had already established the oldest ballet company in the Western United States (San Francisco) and he had established the first ballet department in an American university (University of Utah). Ballet West strives to continue in this tradition by …more…

Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company, the brain-child of former University of Utah professors Shirley Ririe and Joan Woodbury, has had a strong presence in the landscape of American modern dance since its founding in 1964. The company has long-standing ties to treasured American choreographer Alwin Nikolais and in 2003 was chosen by the Nikolais-Louis Foundation as the official house of his choreographic legacy. In addition to …more…

Film

Broadway Centre Cinemas is a multiplex that is operated by the Salt Lake Film Society of Utah. It specializes in the types of small films that might otherwise have difficulty finding a venue in Salt Lake City. Documentaries, independent films, and foreign fare are all frequently found on the Broadway Centre’s six screens. ...more...

The Salt Lake Film Society aims to bring smaller films to the Salt Lake community that might have otherwise had difficulty finding a venue in the area. It operates out of two venues, the Tower Theatre and the Broadway Centre Cinemas, both of which are put into service every year as official venues for the prestigious Sundance Film Festival. The Tower Theater is particularly interesting; prior to its 1950 renovation, …more…

Multi-Arts Festivals

Throughout its history, Salt Lake City has had a strong tradition of public support for the arts. Just 15 years after the state of Utah was founded, the original Salt Lake Theatre (renamed the Capitol Theatre) was built, serving what was initially a small frontier outpost.

In 1962, as part of the “Second Century Plan”, the city’s leaders proposed the construction of …more…